Understanding Your Bill

Here’s a brief explanation of the parts of your PUD bill. The numbers below correspond to the circles on the example bill shown at top:

1. Account Summary

The most important information regarding your bill is placed in a box on the top of the bill and on the payment stub.

2. Service Address

The address where the PUD is providing service for this bill. This address may be different than the mailing address. The meter number is also provided for your reference.

3. Meter Readings

This table shows meter reading information for the period associated with the current bill. This is your actual electricity usage for the billing period. We measure electricity usage in kilowatt hours (kWh). One kilowatt-hour is the amount of electricity required to keep a 100-watt lightbulb lit for 10 hours.

4. Billing Details

A detailed listing of the charges on your current bill. Your most recent payment is also shown here. If you have been assessed a late fee, it will appear here.

5. Important Messages

This area displays messages related directly to your account or service, and other messages from the PUD.

6. Fees for Past Due Amounts

This section explains the fees that will be charged for past due accounts.

7. Graph of Daily Electric Usage

This graph shows your average daily energy usage over the past 13 months. You can use this information to track and manage your electricity usage. We recommend comparing your usage for the current period to the same period last year. You can do this by comparing the far right bar on the graph (this year) to the far left bar (the same period, last year).

8. Contact Information

Ways to contact us about your bill or account are clearly noted on the payment stub and on the back of your bill. You can always reach us at (503) 397-1844.

9. Billing Summary

This section provides the account balance and the billing date. If there is a past due amount, it will be clearly shown in the teal box.

10. Payment Stub

If you are paying by check, return this stub with your payment to ensure the payment is properly credited to your account. The payment stub also provides you with your account number, account summary, and amounts due.

11. Payment Methods

There are several convenient ways to pay your bill, each identified in this section, as well as a contact phone number for our Customer Accounts department.

12. Important Information

This section explains several important things:

The type of identification that PUD employees carry.

The expenses that are included in our customer charge, such as the PUD’s fixed costs to make electricity available to you. This includes the cost of the distribution system that delivers electricity, meter reading costs, and billing costs. It is applied regardless of the amount of energy you use.

Information about taxes and fees that may be levied, depending on where you live and depending on the status of your account.

A description of our electronic check process, and instructions for opting out.

13. Return Stub for Comments or Questions

If you have comments or questions for us, simply fill out this portion and return it with your payment and a PUD employee will contact you. You can also update your contact information by filling out and returning this stub.